| New Living Translation | English Standard Version |
| 1My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others? | 1My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. |
| 2For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. | 2For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, |
| 3If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, | 3and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” |
| 4doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives? | 4have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? |
| 5Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him? | 5Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? |
| 6But you dishonor the poor! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? | 6But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? |
| 7Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear? | 7Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? |
| 8Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” | 8If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. |
| 9But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law. | 9But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. |
| 10For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws. | 10For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. |
| 11For the same God who said, “You must not commit adultery,” also said, “You must not murder.” So if you murder someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law. | 11For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. |
| 12So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free. | 12So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. |
| 13There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you. Faith without Good Deeds Is Dead | 13For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. |
| 14What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? | 14What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? |
| 15Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, | 15If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, |
| 16and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? | 16and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? |
| 17So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. | 17So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. |
| 18Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” | 18But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. |
| 19You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. | 19You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! |
| 20How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless? | 20Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? |
| 21Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? | 21Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? |
| 22You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. | 22You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; |
| 23And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. | 23and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. |
| 24So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone. | 24You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. |
| 25Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. | 25And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? |
| 26Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works. | 26For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. |
| Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. | ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. |
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